*June 25: This post has been updated with some words from Mos Prob. Scroll to the bottom for them if you’ve already read the rest.*

As KOTD starts booking battles for August’s World Domination 5 in Toronto, we figured we’d toss out a few quick ideas about what we’d like to see at the event. This will be the third time KOTD Toronto throws battles on a big stage and we’re hoping after the audio and crowd control problems of WD4 and the no-shows of BO4 that they’ve learned some lessons and this time will be the charm.

We wanted to showcase this article from May 4 again because of how prophetic it was in places. Total Slaughter happened and by now you probably know it wasn’t pretty. We were in the building for the event so didn’t go through the same frustration that people who ordered the PPV did. But there were other frustrations we did experience.

We’ve been busy writing for BattleRap.com and HipHopDX lately so please excuse the slowness on TOBB. We’re putting out more content than we usually do, you just have to go looking for it.

Well, KOTD’s Battle of Los Angeles 5 has come and gone. Normally we’d have a recap of all the battles up by now, but what with the fallout from the Dizaster/Math Hoffa fight and the work we did on our Top 5 Battlers of 2014 (So Far) list we didn’t get a chance to do a full breakdown. We’ll give our thoughts on the battles as the footage drops.

It’s been another busy year for battling. Almost every major league has had a few high profile events and smaller leagues seem to be booking bigger names with greater frequency. The scene moves very quickly and the narrative shifts drastically with every new event, both for MCs and for leagues. With the ongoing success of our now out-of-date Top 10 battlers list from 2013, we thought we’d offer some new picks.

Picture via Twitter. Let us know if you made it for credit.Click for more Mos Prob

No battle rap event in recent years is complete without a vascular hit of controversy. That metaphor was crafted in the wake of the latest Cadalack Ron uproar, but it can apply to any fight, Eurgh-directed spitting incident, lines gone awry (thinking again of Cadalack’s Zimmerman bar) or snatched Crip bandanas. Drama follows the form around like a hound. Keep in mind: all of these vague references to the already-well-documented moments above are from the last twelve months.

It’s only apt then, in the shadow of these recent controversies, that Dizaster, on home turf, waited until the end of his headline BOLA 5 word-fight against Math Hoffa, and without hesitation unleashed a barrage of punches that continued long after his opponent had left a vertical stance. Various crowd members stepped in to both add punches and break it up. Barriers were scattered and equipment was damaged in the process.